The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has called on Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger and Fairfax County officials not to release Alexis Antonio Cedillos-Campos, an illegal alien charged with the murder of 42-year-old Carmen Lizet Puch in Great Falls, Virginia.
According to local reports cited by DHS, Puch's body was discovered on August 17 in a park, having been fatally stabbed with gasoline poured on her in an apparent attempt to set her on fire. Cedillos-Campos, an illegal alien from El Salvador, was arrested on August 19 and now faces a second-degree murder charge. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) lodged a detainer with the Fairfax County Detention Center on the day of his arrest.
DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said, "This criminal illegal alien from El Salvador fatally stabbed 42-year-old Carmen Lizet Puch in a park in Virginia after he had been RELEASED into the country by the Biden Administration." Mullin added, "If it weren’t for Biden’s reckless America Last policies, this woman would still be alive and her killer wouldn’t be here. ICE is calling on Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger and Fairfax County sanctuary politicians to cooperate with ICE and commit to NOT releasing this killer from jail. Virginia sanctuary politicians must stop gambling with the lives of American citizens. Enough is enough."
Cedillos-Campos reportedly entered the United States illegally through Texas in April 2024 and was subsequently released by the Biden Administration after being arrested by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. DHS highlighted that Governor Spanberger's executive orders, enacted early in her term, banned state cooperation with ICE and terminated 287(g) agreements. The department further asserted that under Governor Spanberger, Virginia has become a "hotbed of illegal alien crime," listing several other alleged crimes by illegal aliens in the state since May.